Our H.R.A Harold Wood team representative Adela Meer has shared the following: On the 28th of January this year, our area was devastated by a mindless act of vandalism where trees that had been standing for over 60 years were torn down in the access lane which separates the border of the Kings Park Estate and The Drive in Harold Wood. The residents on both sides were devastated by this senseless destruction and were brought together to grieve and mourn the loss of their environment.
The Kings Park Estate is built on the old hospital site where many residents would have had their children. It was a controversial development at the time for many local people. This lane of many trees and protected wildlife, including stag beetle colonies, served as a wildlife haven for birds and foxes and a peaceful place to walk people's dogs while taking in the cherry blossom scents. It also served as a vital privacy shield between the old Harold Wood and the new. Owning land is a responsibility to the planet, the environment and your fellow man. Our environment has been here generations before us and services those that come after us, therefore we have a duty to look after it.
In response to this, I contacted the developers of Kings Park, Countryside Properties and asked them for help in trying to offset this carbon footprint. In response, they have offered to donate £500.00 to the World Land Trust. As my children commented, 'trees are nature, trees are life'. Our future generation needs to be educated in understanding that there is no need to destroy in order to live. We cannot bring our beautiful trees and precious wildlife back in this spot but we can push forward to irradiate ignorance surrounding the purpose of preserving environments and lay foundations and roots to a greener more sustainable future.